1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a special receptacle, and more particularly, a receptacle designed for displaying glassware, such as generally cylindrical tumblers, in a retail establishment and for transporting the tumblers from one location to another in a safe and secure manner.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Various types of carriers have been produced for carrying objects such as tumblers or the like, and in most cases these carriers are closed to better protect the product.
More recently, U.S. Pat. No. 3,598,302 to William W. Nowak issued Aug. 10, 1971 for a carrier for objects of this type which comprised an open ended sleeve designed to hold the product in position so that it could be displayed. The product was held in place by locking panels hinged to the top and bottom edges of the sleeve and folded inwardly toward the center of the sleeve. These locking panels were provided with elliptical openings therein to snuggly fit about the wall of the generally cylindrical objects. This provided a means of engaging the opposite ends of the objects to hold them contained within the sleeve. The locking panels were held in place by a central strut which engaged the inclined panels, and held them from unfolding. Once assembled, however, the sleeve could not be knocked down or collapsed for storage, shipment, or reuse, thereby requiring assembly directly from a blank at the point of use, which is extremely inconvenient.
Of almost identical construction is the carrier of U.S. Pat. No 3,854,580, issued Dec. 17, 1974 to Russell J. Hennessey, except additional locking tabs are formed in the top panel of the sleeve for holding the walls of the glassware against movement in the carrier. These tabs contact the interior wall of each glass supported by the carrier.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,931,888, issued Jan. 13, 1976 to Wesley S. Fogel relates to a carrier of the same general type, but is provided with pressure applying panels to rigidify the retained glassware. As with U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,598,302 and 3,854,580, the carrier, once assembled, cannot be collapsed to a substantially flat state.